Roderik Rose is an entomologist who subjects himself to a mutagenic process that transforms him into a grasshopper-like insectoid.[2] He has superhuman physical abilities and can crawl on walls and generate durable cocoons.[3] A number of his schemes revolve around transforming others into weaker, subordinate versions of himself, leading to clashes with Batman and the Creeper in The Brave and the Bold #80, and with Green Arrow and the Black Canary in World's Finest Comics #248-249.
Post-Crisis
In the post-CrisisDC Universe, the Hellgrammite returns as a recurring foe for Superman, first encountering the Man of Steel after being hired (by then-LexCorp board member George Markham) to kill Lex Luthor.[4] In the Underworld Unleashed crossover, he makes a deal with Neron, trading his soul to gain increased power.
Hellgrammite is presumed dead during the Our Worlds at War event, but it is later revealed that a similar villain, Larvanaut, died instead. Hellgrammite appears alive in the "One Year Later" event as an assassin for Intergang.
After Prometheus destroys Star City, the new Batman leads a newly formed Justice League in a hunt to track down the various villains who helped Prometheus in his plot. The team finds Hellgrammite and several other villains attempting to flee the country and a battle ensues. Hellgrammite is ultimately defeated after Donna Troy ties up a villainess named Harpi with her lasso, and then swings her into the villain, knocking both of them out.[5]
Powers and abilities
Hellgrammite is super-strong and durable, able to jump long distances, secrete adhesives, and produce cocoons that can transform those imprisoned in them into drone versions of himself. In both forms, he has expertise in entomology.
Hellgrammite appears in Supergirl, portrayed by Justice Leak.[7] This version is an alien who possesses the ability to camouflage himself as a humanoid and generate spikes capable of piercing metal, though he requires DDT sources to survive as it is the closest analogue to food. Additionally, he was imprisoned in the Phantom Zone prison Fort Rozz before it crash-landed on Earth, allowing the inmates to escape.
^Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 142. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 156. ISBN0-8160-1356-X.
^Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 180. ISBN9780345501066.
^Justice League of America (vol. 2) #43 (May 2010)
^"Hellgrammite Voice - Batman: The Brave and the Bold (TV Show)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 15, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
